From the Beginning - A Hero
by Graywolf144
Summary: A new hero emerges but super powers are the least important issue that Jesse or rather Jessie will have to deal with. This story was inspired by an odd combination of not liking the tutorial and a dream the night after minor surgery.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's notes: I like superhero games, played independent ones and City of Heroes from beta to shut down. Then later I found DCUO; I enjoy it but the one part that always bugged me was the start._

 _You are bitten, which probably feels like a hornet or wasp sting. Your body erupts with energy or fire or ice or whatever then you're transported to an alien ship and locked inside a pod. You manage to panic your way out with a head full of someone else's memories of powers, skills, and fights only to be told you have to fight thru waves of robots to escape._

 _Some of these people may not have ever thrown a punch in their life or been in a fight and suddenly they have to do both._

 _Then when you do reach the end Superman needs your help. Superman, the number one hero on the planet, needs your help._

 _But you do help and are teleported off the ship. But not to a hospital but a club or police station and told, "Oh yeah, we have a situation. We need you to go out and smack gorillas or the walking dead."_

 _So no, just no._

 _I wrote this in response to the start and because I had the same dream that's in the story the night after some minor surgery._

 _One final note; this is not intended as a wishful self-insertion. I'm in my mid-50s, completely content with who I am, and yes I've had sex and made love._

 _As always reviews are welcome, questions will be answered, and flames will be ignored because I already know I'm screwed up in the head._

 _Enjoy._

From the Beginning – A Hero

He stared at the landscape someone had painted on the ceiling of his room and wished he was in those woods right now. It was really late but he wasn't tired; he always had a hard time sleeping in hospitals. They had offered him a sleep aid but he declined. He had a problem with pills; or rather he used to have a problem with pills. An overly friendly Air Force dentist who had loaded him up after pulling all his wisdom teeth.

He got out of bed and shuffled to the bathroom, turned on the light, and closed the door. Then he pulled of his gown and looked in the mirror. He concentrated on small things at first. He was at least four feet from the mirror but he could see with perfect clarity; before the incident he would have to be inches from the mirror even with his glasses. His coloration was also off; he had been kind of pasty; typical of someone who sat in front of a computer all day, with brown hair and brown eyes. Now he looked like he had a permanent tan with red hair and green eyes. The muscles were new too; he had been in shape before. If that shape was Alfred Hitchcock, he wasn't ripped now but more solid; he actually had abs and when he moved his arms he could see the biceps.

He had avoided the 600 pound giant mutant gorilla in the room so he sighed and looked at everything; if it wasn't him he would have thought the woman in the mirror was very attractive; even hot. But now as he closed the distance and put his hands on the mirror the woman did the same thing. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against his reflection; or rather her reflection and let the memories come.

There had been the sound of something breaking and then he was on his knees. He managed to force himself up to sag against some kind of pod before he had to turn his head and vomit. He finally stopped throwing up enough to notice his dizziness had subsided as well. He sagged more against the pod drawing in deep breaths and that's when he noticed there was a voice talking.

"-worked. I'm in, and you're awake and free! Whew. Ok, I'm Oracle and we are going to get you off this ship. Look for a doorway out."

"Just give me a minute; everything is still fuzzy. Who are you? Where am I? And what's going on?" There were little flashes of light in front of his eyes but it was starting to fade and his vision was beginning to return.

"My name is Oracle; I'm kind of a guide for heroes; what's the last thing you remember?"

"Well I was-" His voice trailed off into silence. Why was it so difficult to pull up a memory?

"Ok, how about your name, do you remember that?"

He found himself nodding as the room was slowly becoming more clear. "Uh, yeah, my name is Jesse Kendal but my middle name starts with A so call me Jak, everyone does."

"Alright, where are you from Jak?"

"I'm from…" Why was it so hard to remember? He closed his eyes to concentrate and thru the fog a piece of memory popped up.

"National City, I'm from National City."

"Alright, glad you remember. My hack is still in place so we have a little time. Right now you're in Metropolis, or rather inside one of Brainiac's ships floating over the city."

He was more confused than scared.

"Uh, Ok, how did I get to Metropolis and why am I in an alien ship?"

"I don't know the how but for the why; you were bitten by an Exobyte. The explanation for that would take longer then we have time for but to cut it really short the Exobyte gave you super powers. Brainiac beamed you up to try to steal back the powers but I was able to hack in and get you released from that chamber you were trapped in and that brings us up to now."  
"Wait, I have superpowers now? What kind?" "We don't know yet, I got you out before the chamber could-"  
"What the FUCK! Why do I have BOOBS?" With his vision finally back he had looked around at the big room, the smoking pod next to him. What looked like a door on the far side of the room with some kind of robot walking back and forth in front of it but then he had looked down at himself. He had boobs, actually he had cleavage as the blue and gold shirt he was wearing had a zipper that was lowered just enough to show their tops. He was brought back from his brain freeze by the voice of Oracle.

"-OK. Just talk to me, what's going on?"

"I'm not me, I've got boobs." Almost in shock he reached down and put his hand in his shorts and fell to his knees when he didn't find what he was looking for.

"Jak, why wouldn't you have boobs, what's wrong?"  
"Because I'm a guy. Alexander Kendal. I'm not a woman!"

There was silence for a few moments from the voice which gave him at least a little bit of time to try to calm down. To remember what he had learned in the Air Force. "When everything's exploding and the shit has buried the fan; focus on what you can do. Do that, then when you reach a safe place you can worry about the mountain of shit."

"I- I need to get out of here." He nodded to himself, "First I'll get out of here and then try to figure out what the fuck is going on."

Oracle's voice came back, "Sounds like a solid plan. Ok, we're going to run thru a few things, see if I can get a handle on your capabilities. Can you do that for me?"

"Uh yeah, what do you want me to do?"

"Ok face the wall, put your hands on it above your head and try to pull yourself up."  
"Uh, ok. He tried, "Nothing happened, I'm still here."

"Ok, look up, how high is the ceiling?"

"I don't know about thirty feet?"

"Ok, I want you to look up, bend your knees, and jump as high as you can while reaching for the ceiling."  
"Alright." He looked up, bent his knees, reached up and jumped. And then stopped about eight feet in the air. He was stunned into silence.

"Did anything happen?" Oracle asked.

"Yeah, I'm floating in midair, what the hell?"

"It's alright it just means you can fly. I want you to concentrate and try to go up the ceiling then down and land on the floor, just think of going up and down."

He nodded, and reaching for the ceiling again and thinking up he floated up until he gently bumped into it. Then he looked down and thought down and slowly dropped until his feet hit the floor and he leaned against the wall to make sure he didn't fall to his knees.

"Ok. Ok. That was," He hunted for the right words. "Alright I don't know what that was but damn."

"OK you're doing fine and my hack finally has given me visuals. Now for the next part; you see the chunks of crystal on the floor? Pick one up, good sized one."

He bent over and picked up a piece a little larger than his hand noticing the fingerless gloves he had on.

"Ok, got it. Now what?"

"Squeeze it with both hands until it breaks."

He shrugged and squeezed the chunk until it broke apart.

"Ok, I broke it, was like squeezing a candy bar but it's done."

"Alright, the reason I had you break that was because that is actually a very dense polymer and normally you would need to use a sledge hammer to break it. You've got enhanced strength; and the reason I wanted you to know that is I want you to attack the pod."  
"Wait, attack the pod, why?"

"You're not the first person I've helped out these pods; I need to see what type of weapons you might have."

"In what I'm wearing I don't have any weapons; unless they're miniature in some of these belt pouches."

"Trust me, a lot of heroes are able to store weapons, well we don't have time for that either, so take a step or two back from the pod and attack it, concentrate on trying to damage it."

"Alright."

He stepped back made a fist and swung knowing he wasn't close enough when an energy beam came out of his fist and blew a hole in the pod. He stepped back, looked at his hand then back at the hole. This time he shot both hands towards it and two beams, one from each hand, came out and blasted the pod.

"Those are energy beams. You'll have a good range on those. Ok, so are you ready to get out of here?"

"Oh hell yes, let's go kick that robot's ass."

He smashed the first robot with ease but then Oracle announced that the ship had broken her hack and they knew he was free. Then the door opened and three more robots rushed in.

After that there was a lot of fighting and running, or flying in his case. He smashed a couple of crates with the items inside disappearing into what she called null storage space. The pouches on his belt being a lot bigger on the inside then the outside; something he could ask Martian Manhunter to explain when he was off the ship.

Then finally in the gun room he had to fight a big robot but by that time he had learned that the green barrels contained some kind of healing something and he was able to use those to win. Then Superman showed up along with a crap ton of robots but eventually they were stopped with Superman telling him to get to a transporter pad. He stumbled to one and suddenly felt like he had been turned inside out. He had been teleported into what looked like an ER and his last sight were some people in scrubs rushing towards him before darkness took him down.


	2. Chapter 2

He shook himself free of the memories, used the restroom, put the gown back on and got back into bed. He finally drifted off only to be roused by a nurse in the morning who took his vitals and said the Doctors would be in soon. While he waited for them he just lay there, not really thinking about anything. Someone brought in breakfast but he had no appetite and ignored it. As he lay there he couldn't believe it had only been two days. He had never recovered so fast from anything; but then again he hadn't been super. His musings were interrupted by two Doctors. One was a tall thin balding man and the other was a pretty woman with short dark hair. They introduced themselves; tall and thin was Dr. Hollis and short haired was Dr. Krause. They started talking about overall health and the recovery plan but he interrupted them.

"I don't care about any of that; can you fix my body? Put me back the way I'm supposed to be?"

They looked at each other than at the clipboard like it would have answers. They didn't really say anything but then they didn't need to. They had moved on to talking about first getting better and taking time to adjust but he just tuned them out and turned his head away.

"Gottverdammich" He may not be a gentleman any more but he still tried not to cuss in front of women; at least in English. But of course like everything else lately that didn't work out.

" _Hey, it's not that bad we are working on this!"_ The female Doctor spoke up.

"You speak German?"

"My grandparents were from Nuremburg; I spent summers with them. How did you learn it?"

"Back when I was me, I was stationed over there."

" _Well you have excellent pronunciation; and you are you. You're still the same. A person is defined by what's inside not by what's outside."_

" _And if you suddenly woke up as a man Dr. Krause, would you still be you?"_

" _Yes, it wouldn't be easy and I'm not going to pretend I know what you're going thru. But you are the same, the only difference between today and a week ago is that your chromosomes have changed."_

He nodded his head at that. It didn't make him feel much better but it was true.

" _And the super powers."_

" _Ok, so two changes in a week. Now instead of talking about what we don't know, let's talk about what we do know."_

She switched back to English, "Now according to our notes you were on the Coast Starlight; the train from National City that runs up along the coast. Do you remember?"

He concentrated, memories slowly emerging from the fog; the law firm he did IT for raising money for heart disease something; he bought a couple tickets and remembered winning. A four day round trip scenic train trip from National City to Star City. He had been excited because he had never been to Star City and wanted to see if it really was the coffee capital of the country.

"I remember, I won the ticket. I remember going to bed the second night but-"He strained his memory. "But after that I don't remember anything until I was leaning against the pod on Brainiac's ship." Something she said caught his attention. "Did you say a week? I've lost a week?"

This time Dr. Hollis spoke up, "I'm afraid so, the Starlight derailed in Northern California. It was pretty bad." Dr. Hollis' voice didn't match his appearance; he looked like it should be cold and sterile but it was warm and reassuring.

"So how did I end up on the east coast from a west coast train wreck?"

"That we do now, Batman found the answer about an hour ago."

"Batman, the Batman looks into train wrecks?"

"When they're suspicious." Dr. Krause took over. "Many of the victims appeared to have their DNA scrambled. What he determined was that a terrorist group had built a bomb that caused massive genetic damage and were testing it on the train before moving on to something bigger; like a city."

"Terrorists can do that?"

"Apparently these could but Batman arrested them all and broke up the group, confiscating all their research."

"So how come I'm not dead?"

This time it was Dr. Hollis. "Even though your DNA was scrambled you refused to die; the terrorists apparently gathered you up for further experiments but upon arrival in Metropolis during transport you were bitten by an Exobyte."

Dr. Krause's turn. "Then the area you were in was bottled and you were transported up to the ship."

"I'm sorry, bottled?"

"You haven't been watching the news?" At his head shake Dr. Hollis turned on the TV and flipped channels until he hit a news station showing helicopter footage. The tag line at the bottom said it was midtown Metropolis but what he couldn't stop looking at was so many of the buildings had giant purple energy bubbles around them.

"I thought Batman only worked out of Gotham?"

"He normally does but apparently a friend of the Flash was on the train; she survived but he thought something was off and asked Batman to look into it."

"Ok, so I've heard some of the nurses talking and there are others who got bit but they didn't change, why did I?"

Dr. Hollis spoke up. "What we believe is that all the others exposed to the Bytes were genetically stable; so the powers were laid on top. DNA normally looks like a twisted ladder but according to the medical records Batman recovered; your DNA looked like a bomb went off in a ladder factory. To be honest I don't understand how you were able to survive that much damage." He looked at his clipboard then back up. "In your case the Exobyte had to fill in large missing gaps and broken sections. And because the Byte that bit you contained powered information for a female, you ended up female."

He sank back in bed, looked down for a second then back up.

"I'm never going to get my old body back am I?"

Dr. Hollis started to speak but Dr. Krause looked him in the eye.

"No, you aren't. We talked to Superman, Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman, but they didn't have an answer."

He tried to find anything positive what he'd just heard.

"Well, at least I don't have a girlfriend I'd have to break up with."

Dr. Hollis this time, "Hey, you'll find a girlfriend again."

He blinked, "How? I'm not a man anymore."

Dr. Krause sighed, "You are aware that some women prefer other women, right?" He looked back to Dr. Krause. "I was, I just never thought it would apply to me."

"Well you should consider it, just on the watchtower alone there are probably a dozen or so of us."

He was saved from having to answer when there was a knock on the door.

"Hey is this a good time?" The two doctors turned back to wave to the tall black man at the door.

"Dr. Holt come on in, perfect timing."

Dr. Krause turned back, "Dr. Holt is here to run you down to his lab and run some tests to see what kind of power you have."

"I thought it was I could fly and shoot energy"

Dr. Holt was adjusting the bed for transport, "Hello, I'm Curtis Holt. Those are your base level abilities; some of the other bitten have displayed base level abilities like super speed and the use of bows. So I modified a few machines in my lab to help test." He began to maneuver the bed out of the room as Dr. Hollis and Krause started to leave when Dr. Krause turned back, _"You survived that bomb, you can survive this. I'll see you later."_ Then they went down one hallway and Dr. Holt was pushing him down another. He laid back in bed trying to organize all his thoughts and wondering what the future held.


	3. Chapter 3

Dr. Holt pushed him into a procedure room and helped him move over and lay down on a table then he slid the table into the middle of three rings that reminded him of CT machines.

"How are you doing?"

"Uh, I feel like the filling in some donuts."

Dr. Holt chuckled at that, "Ok we're going to run some scans and other tests to determine a few things. Listen I'm aware of your situation what do you want me to call you?"  
"Call me Jak, those are the initials of my name."

"Alright Jak, I'm going to start the analysis." There was a hum as the three rings powered up but other than the hum it was quiet."

A monitor and keyboard with a touch pad suddenly lowered towards Jak

"Now we're also going to test some of your other cognitive abilities. Let me just get that set up."

Jak could her him tapping on keys but the monitor only continued to display floating colors.

"How long did it take you to learn German; I only speak Russian but I've been thinking of learning another language."

"Well I didn't really learn it, just learned to mumble thru it. Enough to ask for directions, order beer, that kind of thing."

Dr. Holt popped up by the side of the bed. "I heard you talking with Dr. Krause, you were having a conversation."

Jak started to say something, stopped, then started again. "I did, but that's not possible. Like I said I can only mumble thru German."

Dr. Holt noticed the confused look on Jak's face; "Ok, just a minute. We're about to start the tests. We'll address that in just a bit."

He went back to the control room and spoke up from there.

"Ok, for the first test I want you to read the sentence that shows up on the monitor. Ready?"

"Go ahead."

The first one popped up, "The car with the green top won't start." He read out loud.

The next one popped up, "Sorry, I don't even know what language that is?"

"That's ok, please keep going." The test lasted about twenty five minutes.

"A storm is moving in tonight."

"The radio is broken and will not work."

"Which way is the road to the museum."

"The symphony starts in an hour."  
"Did you make reservations at the restaurant?"

After the test ended Dr. Holt pulled out the table, helped him set up and gave him a short break. Then it was back on the table and into the rings. Then two more sets of tests before another break.

"Ok, so you said you could barely speak German, is that correct?" Dr. Holt asked as he helped position Jak back in the rings.

"Yep, always wanted to get better but I always had a problem with languages. It's why I never became a computer programmer. I can fix them just fine; programming not so much. But I'm pretty good in math which I think makes up for it."

"Alright, now we're going to run another series of tests. In this case tell me what's on the screen."

This test ran a bit longer and in the middle of it Dr. Holt put in their lunch orders for burgers and fries. The food showed up a few minutes after the test ended. While they were eating Jak had some questions for Dr. Holt.

"That chess set that was in the last series of tests; it was a really good looking set. Do you know where I could get one?"

Dr. Holt nodded, "I can get you the information; I take it you play?"

Jak washed down a few fries, "I do, only about a 1700 rating, nothing fantastic but I enjoy it."

They finished up and Dr. Holt printed out a page on the chess set and put it in the basket attached to the bed, then they began the last round of tests. These were with the three rings as they made different sounds. Finally Dr. Holt came back. "Ok, while the results are compiling; one more final test. I want to determine if your chess ability has changed. Just play the computer when it comes up on the screen."

He played for about an hour and to his surprise won all his games.

Dr. Holt came over pulled his bed out of the rings, raised the head of the bed, and began to speak.

"Alright, the results have come in." He stopped for a second.

"Are you trying to be dramatic?" Jak asked.

"No, Ok, maybe a little. You have the ability to control quantum energy. That means you can manipulate time and gravity; twist the very fabric space itself. You'll be able to slow down opponents, change their density, or even teleport behind them by altering time, manipulating gravity, and folding space."

"You're certain?"

Dr. Holt just gave a look, "Absolutely. Now you don't have to become a hero, and that's alright. But we will need to teach you some control. Make sure you don't blow anything or anyone up."

Jak was quiet for moment, "So I don't have to be a hero." He changed his voice to his best 1930s radio voice, "And fight the forces of evil?"

Dr. Holt smiled at that. "Only if you want to, one of the first bitten was a school teacher who developed the ability to control ice along with a remarkable ability at martial arts. She finished her training and is now back teaching school."

Jak nodded, "I don't know about the hero thing but I definitely want to learn control. I should say it can't get any worse but I don't want to jinx myself." He tried a half smile at Dr. Holt who wasn't looking at him.

"There is one other problem that's popped up, not so much a problem, more like an unusual situation."

"If you're trying to be reassuring you're failing miserably."

"Ok, the first test we had you run. I set that up because I was curious about the fact that you were able to have a conversation with Dr. Krause in German; yet you yourself insisted that your knowledge of the language was rudimentary at best."

Jak nodded for him to continue.

"Only one of the sentences you read was in English. The other ones you read were in French, Italian, German, Mandarin, and Russian."

"There's no way, the only thing I know in Russian is one curse phrase. And I can't read German. I can only mumble in it."

Dr. Holt nodded, "I should tell you that from the beginning of this conversation when I said the results have come in. I've been speaking Russian."

Jak just stared.

"Computer," Dr. Holt looked up towards the speaker in the ceiling. Replay the last three minutes of conversation."

There was a pause and then their conversation began to repeat. And now Jak could hear it. The conversation was in Russian but somehow he understood all of it.

"How is this possible?"

"Well it's long been theorized that memory is stored in RNA, which is a part of the DNA. Most of the bitten suddenly become proficient with weapons they had never used before; like one handed, firearms, or in your case energy beams. Because of the damage your DNA sustained it's possible that more of the RNA was transferred; the part that allowed your future hero to be fluent in so many languages implanted into your memory."

Jak was silent for a moment, started to say something then chuckled and stopped.

Dr. Holt looked at him curiously," What is it?"

"I was about to say that's impossible; but onboard this station is a man who can run faster than the speed of light; another who can lift a planet, and a woman who's the daughter of the gods and can use magic."  
"You make a fair point. There is also one more item. You said your chess rating was about 1700? What you've demonstrated against the computer shows a rating around 2700."

"Well, that's some good news I guess."

"You may find yourself discovering other skills as the days go by; don't hesitate to reach out to me or one of the other doctors."

"You bring up a good point, how am I going to pick my life back up again? I just can't show up at work on Monday like nothing's happened. I think I need to stay in Metropolis while I learn everything I can; until I can get adjusted to everything but I don't have a job, I'm living paycheck to paycheck to pay for my Mom's care at that home. Oh God, I've got to call her; they might have told her I was dead."

Dr. Holt spoke quickly, "Hey calm down, it'll be alright. When we were able to confirm your identity we reached out to your Mom's care facility and your job. We let them know you were injured but will fully recover." Seeing that Jak was calming down.

"Now if you are certain about staying in Metropolis we actually have relocation specialists who can assist. We can find you a job, a place to stay, even get your belongings moved over as well as your Mom."

"I can't afford that, there's no way I could afford that."

But Dr. Holt was shaking his head.

"Listen, even if you go back to your life as an IT tech; you would still be considered a Justice League reservist. As in you don't have to fight unless that world is ending; and even then it's optional. And the Justice League looks out for all its members; active and reservist." He smiled, "This satellite cost billions; the cost to help you and get your life set up is something we're glad to do."

"We're? You're a member?"

"Yes I am. I'm a reservist, I like my lab to much to stray from it. Well that and my husband; I'd rather not add something else to divide my time." He took a breath.

"Now, the one problem we haven't had to worry about with the other bitten is that you are now in a new body. Which means changes like your driver's license doesn't match any more. Or that disability check you get from the Air Force for your back doesn't apply anymore because you have a new back. Or the fact you look about thirty years younger than you used to be."

"That is kind of overwhelming. Ok, that's extremely overwhelming. How would I even start to fix all that?"

"You use the system; you are not the first person who's needed a new life. One of our current heroes used to be a villain down in Miami until he became powered and wanted to be on the right side.

There is an office, part of the relocation services that will be able to assist. Let me reach out to them." He moved back and picked up the phone, after a few minutes he came back.

"Ok, I'm going to take you back to your room. Amanda Lewis, head of the relocation department, will be down to help you with all this. She'll even help you get set up with new clothing; you're probably tired of wearing a hospital gown."

Jak nodded at that, "And my old clothes won't fit me anymore."

Dr. Holt made small talk as he pushed the bed back to the room.

"Alright, she should be down in a few minutes; one good aspect of the tests is that you're now cleared to move around the medical wing of the station. There's a small cafeteria on this level or if you go up one level you'll find the main cafeteria and rec area. If you need anything just hit the call button. If you're worried about your Mom you can use the phone; just press zero to get the operator and they'll get you connected." "My mom is kind of confused even on good days; this I'll have to explain this in person."

He nodded at that.

"Ok, I'll probably be seeing you around the station. Have a good rest of your day."


	4. Chapter 4

Jak laid back in bed trying to get his mind wrapped around all that happened. The truth was moving from National City wasn't that upsetting. He didn't have any close friends, several acquaintances, but no friends. His job certainly wasn't a loss; brought in as a contractor on a project he had no illusions that they weren't going to kick him loose when it was finished.

His reverie was interrupted by a knock on his door; he sat up as a woman in a suit and holding a laptop came in the room.

"Hello, I'm Amanda Lewis; Dr. Holt briefed me on your situation and I've been looking at the information we have on you. I think we're going to be able to help you."

He was about to ask we when another man came in. Rather tall with glasses he had several notepads and pens. "Sorry, Amanda, I always get turned around in this area."

"Not a problem, Kyle." She turned back to him. "Miss Kendal this is my assistant Kyle Gibson."

"It's Mr. Kendal, I'm in the wrong body but it's Mr. Kendal."

There was silence for a moment, "I'm sorry but I was under the impression from these reports that they were unable to get you back to your old body."

"I don't care, I'm still me, still Mr. Kendal." He looked away, he hated that he had heard his voice quiver and now he had moisture in his eyes. He rubbed at them still staring at the wall.  
"Is Jak alright? Our notes indicate that you allowed some of the doctors to call you that?" Kyle asked.

He nodded, until he could trust his voice again. "Yeah, just call me Jak. I've always gone by that."

"Ok, Jak, like I said I'm Amanda Lewis and this is my assistant Kyle Gibson and we're going to set up a relocation program for you."

"Yes, thank you for your help. How can we do this?"

"Let me look at something really quickly and get some background information." She set up her laptop on the rolling tray and then she began talking quietly to Kyle as he made notes and she would point to things on the screen. Occasionally she or Kyle would ask Jak some question then make some more entries on the laptop or on the legal pads. This continued until she typed one more note on the screen then turned back to Jak.

"Ok, I think best thing for you is what we call a modified Houdini, you disappear from one place only to reappear in another. In this case Metropolis.

You've indicated you don't have any close friends in National City. So what we'll tell everyone there is that you were injured more seriously than initially thought and it was recommended that you transfer to a hospital in Metropolis for your rehabilitation. And since you were going to be here for the foreseeable future it only makes sense to move your Mother to a facility closer to where you'll be living.

Point of fact there is an excellent care facility just outside the city in Jackson Hills. It's only about a twenty minute drive, faster if you fly, but far enough out that none of the weirdness that's hit this city over the years has even come close to the town.

Now as for all the other matters we don't have to fake your death."  
"You can do that?"

Kyle spoke up, "We don't like to but we can. Sometimes the only option is for someone to vanish completely. To start fresh somewhere else."  
"That makes sense, Dr. Holt mentioned one of the new heroes used to be a criminal down in Miami."

"Exactly. But that's not needed here. We have to just adjust a few things." She turned back to her laptop. "We'll adjust the dates in your life; year of birth, graduation, service in the Air Force. You obtained your computer degree from a very small technical college. We'll erase that and give you the same degree but from a large university where you wouldn't have been remembered, easier to blend in. We'll also generate a similar but compacted job history to what you've been working. Again replacing smaller firms with a large one so your experience matches but if pressed no one there will be able to really remember who you were."

"That's really amazing. I'd like to keep my same birthday; it would be easier to remember, but I understand about the birth year. I look in the mirror and it looks like I'm only about twenty-four."  
"That's the age we're going for; Air force from seventeen to twenty-one where you earned your associates degree and completed most of the course work for your bachelor's degree. No accident this time so no disability. Then a year at the University of California National City to complete it and then working two years for a large company before the train wreck and your transfer to Metropolis."  
"How do I explain that I plan to stay in Metropolis once I recover?"

Kyle spoke up this time, "How about you decided on a change of scenery; the company you worked for in National City has offices here and after completing your rehab decided to stay and seek a position with them."

"That sounds good, by the way what big company did I work for?" Amanda answered that, "That we'll have to research but it will probably be either Wayne Enterprises or Queen Industries."

"Ok but relocating means I have to find an apartment, put down first and last month, switch cable companies, the whole mess you have to do when you're moving."  
"That you don't have to worry about," She was smiling. "Our relocation teams will take care of all that. And there's no charge. What happened to you with the experimentation was unconscionable." She wrote something down on a piece of paper, tore it off the legal pad and gave it to him.

"This is the stipend you'll be receiving from the justice league. All members, active and reserve receive this."

He looked at the number, "Is that a comma?"

"Yes, that's your weekly stipend after taxes. In your case it will listed that you're doing part time IT work up here on the station. The watchtower employs more than three hundred employees and you will simply be one more.

Then she wrote something else down on another piece of paper.

"And this is the settlement offer from the train people for the crash."

"That's a lot of money. And the stipend is more than I was making my last job." He was thinking for a minute, "I have to say if I could be trained, I wouldn't mind being an active member instead of being a reservist."

Amanda nodded "Well with all the bitten more active members would be a real help. Not everyone is as considerate with their new abilities and a lot of them are turning into villains. But there is one last thing we have to address. Your name." She looked down at her laptop for a moment then back up meeting his eyes. "Regardless of how you feel, the body you have now is female. It make a lot of things easier if instead o Alexander we could modify it t Alexandria. That way you'd still be Jak. But it would avoid suspicion on your driver license and official paperwork. Tell me what you think."

He hung his head but that only let him look down at his body; his female body. It was already going to be hard to adjust to everything; the last thing he needed was crap from something simple. He brought his head back up, "Yeah that makes sense. Let's change it. This is something I can control and I need to keep at least some control or I might just lose it."

"Alright, you're also going to need a hero code name but you'll have time to think on that." Kyle added.

"Now let's do something that's much more fun." Amanda had a bigger smile on her face as she turned on the TV then hit a button on the remote and a computer screen came up. "Let's shop for clothes."

"We can do that?"

"Absolutely, part of the procedure for new bitten is to get measurements because whatever they were like before, they end up in great shape. Your change is just a bit more than the normal one.

Kyle will go and get things started and I'll stay and help you shop."

Jak nodded at that, "Thanks. Let's do this." Kyle left while Amanda and Jak shopped. Amanda making some suggestions for formal work clothes and suggesting some others that Jak wouldn't have thought of. They stopped just before dinner time with Amanda taking a call from Kyle letting her know that most of the paperwork was taken care of and she let Jak know that she would be in tomorrow to have him sign it and get everything started.


	5. Chapter 5

She left as they brought in dinner and the charge nurse let him know that he would be discharged the following day. They were going to get him into guest quarters until everything was completed like training, all the paperwork, and finding him an apartment.

For the first time in days he felt like things were finally going his way.

After dinner he watched a movie on demand then went to sleep and began to dream.

It was an odd dream; some images were fuzzy and others were razor sharp. She was in an apartment she'd never seen before but somehow it was completely familiar. Looking out the floor to ceiling windows she could see the rain pounding down. Across the table from her was a fuzzy shaped woman that she knew was named Debra. Their conversation was muffled and the dinner they were eating was fuzzy but she thought it was some kind of pasta. The wine glass was very sharp and the taste of wine was like nothing she had ever had before. She had heard wine people talk about hints of blackberry and savory spice but had never experienced it before. She was still distracted by the flavors when they left the table taking the wine with them. They walked over towards a grand piano and while she sat down taking another sip of wine, Debra lit the fireplace and dimmed the lights. Then she came and gave her a shoulder squeeze before sitting down in a lounge chair facing the piano. Jak smiled at her then turning to the keyboard began to play. The notes effortlessly being pulled from the piano. The keys and piano were fuzzy but the music was sharp and clear. Beethoven, Debussy, Chopin, and Liszt were some of what she played. She stopped after her last piece and finished the wine then turned and gave a wink to Debra before starting one last song. Even fuzzy she could see Debra's smile as she started singing, "Don't wish it away don't look at it like its forever" The music again nice and clear and this time the words were also sharp. As the last note faded Debra walked over took her hand, helped her stand up and kissed her with a passion. She heard herself say, "I'm sorry I was gone for so long." And the words were clear as well before Debra hushed her with a kiss and then led her to their bedroom.

She woke up the next morning in her hospital bed with a smile on her face. Then her memory began to clear. And it was her memory, the future hero who's everything was now hers, his. She was interrupted from her musing when Dr. Krause bustled in with a nurse. While the nurse checked vitals, Jak shared the dream with Dr. Krause, speaking in German to keep their conversation private.

" _And what bothered you Jak? That you thought of yourself as a woman or that you had sex as a woman with another woman?"_

" _We didn't just have sex doctor, we made love."_ Jak looked away for a second then back, " _I've had sex before but I've never made love. I know that probably sounds dumb but I really can't explain it any other way."_

" _I don't think that's dumb and I do understand. When I was in college and medical school I thought I was making love but it was only sex. It wasn't until I met my wife that I made love. But how do you feel about the fact that in the dream you were her not him?"_

This time Jak stared at the bed, " _I don't know how I feel; I mean I was a woman. But it was just a fact like water is wet and the sun is hot. It had that dream like quality where it was completely normal. Like dreams that you can fly. Well dreams that you can fly before I could really fly."_ A long silence. " _I know I'm female now; but my brain keeps insisting I'm a man. It's like people with phobias; the front part of their mind will use reason and say something like this closet is well ventilated, I'm not going to suffocate or I'm on the top of this building standing behind several guard rails and I won't fall. But the back of their mind, the primitive part, is screaming 'It's too small, let me out! Let me out!' and 'I'm going to fall! I'm going to fall!"_

" _So I don't know how to resolve this. I think I'd like to talk to a shrink or a counselor."_

" _We can set that up. We should also test your piano ability as well; up one floor next to the main cafeteria is the rec area and there's a piano in there. When you get some free time go on up and see if you really can play. Since you picked up your future hero's linguistic abilities I have no doubt that you also picked up her musical skills. So, the schedule for today, I've brought you some scrubs to wear when we discharge you and move you into guest housing. Some of your clothing should be there in a few hours but after getting settled in you have an appointment with Captain Atom. He's a hero who also uses quantum powers and he's going to help you to learn control."_

Switching back to English. "So first breakfast then everything else."

The day seemed to speed by; after breakfast putting on some scrubs and leaving the medical wing. Amanda showed up with the paperwork and led her, she shook her head. Led him, led him, to the guest quarters. It was nicer than he had imagined. Opening the door by placing her hand on the scanner was a small studio apartment. A small kitchenette with fridge, table, sofa and TV to the left. A computer desk to the right with the bed beyond that in the corner. A door way across from the entrance that opened into a bathroom with a shower set up to the right and large closet space to the left where some of her clothes were waiting. He signed the paperwork Amanda gave him and she told him that his Mother would be in the facility in Jackson Hills by tomorrow or the next day at the latest. She also gave him a cell phone that she could use and showed him that the first app listed was an active guide to the watch tower. She showed him how to use it to confirm her appointment with Captain Atom then left after making sure his palm scan was added so he could open the door. He changed into sweats and tennis shoes and followed the app to training room number four. He was standing on the matt facing away from her looking out a window into space and he actually stopped for a minute to stare; he was in space. He had known it but to really see it was unbelievable. He snapped out of his reverie when Captain Atom approached. "Hello, you must be Jak." Old habits kicked in and he snapped to attention and saluted, "Captain Atom sir, Staff Sergeant Kendal reporting as ordered."

He returned the salute then smiled and shook her hand, "Call me Nathaniel. You're not Air Force anymore and even if you were still on active duty we're all equal on this station." She smiled back, "So can I use that on the big three?" He chuckled, "Supes and Diana won't mind but no, you don't want to try that on Bats. Shall we begin?"


	6. Chapter 6

Captain Atom was a great teacher, and helped him to begin to use his powers, and was able to calm him down when he discovered that activating his powers changed his body from a normal human to what looked like walking space. His body was still his body, he could feel it, but looking at himself was like looking into the depths of space with stars inside. Working together they also discovered that this space form was highly resistant to conventional attacks. The training lasted the rest of the day and afterward he was introduced to Dr. Salazar who was a clinical psychologist who specialized in major life changes like recovering from trauma or gaining super powers. The woman seemed somewhat intense but as the session progressed Jak found her warm and helpful but Dr. Salazar, "Call me Monique." Didn't hesitate to point out that the body he had now was going to be her body, not his body, from now on. The session lasted just over an hour and they arranged to meet daily for the foreseeable future. The next day was devoted to training as well. The third day of training was only a half day as after lunch and a quick shower, and wearing jeans and comfortable clothing, she took one of the teleporters and beamed down to the Riverwood senior care facility in Jackson Hills to see her Mom.

Her Mom was having one of her good days so her memory was sharp enough to know that she didn't have a daughter. Jak explained everything and felt even worse when her Mom cried. It took some doing but Jak was able to calm her down. Not finding any cameras in the room she showed her mom her space form and then floated her off of her bed. With Jak holding her tight he asked her if she was alright; then almost cried himself when his mom said that of course she was, her child was holding her. They wrapped up the visit with Jak promising to come back and visit in a few days. Then she walked to a nearby park before teleporting back up to the station.

She went to her room to find Amanda waiting for her at the table. She had two folders for her. The first was for a small deco apartment in the Little Bohemia section of Metropolis. It contained the lease, the cable company information, keys, a pass card to the underground parking garage, a welcome to the neighborhood packet, and teleport coordinates that she could use to go from the station to home. Amanda also let her know that the relocation movers had cleared out her old apartment and all her possessions would be there in a few days; they were donating the rent a store junk furniture, her old clothing, and in the kitchen 'All of the crap pots and pans and what the hell is that?.' An actual quote from the head of the relocation team according to Amanda. It would also take a day or two to furnish the place with something that was actually useable.

The second folder was all her new paperwork. Driver's license, Social Security card, bank card, credit card, even voter's registration and a library card. Amanda also handed over her framed Bachelor's degree from UCNC. Jak stared at it, especially the part where it said Jessie. "You know I wanted to go to the University of California but I couldn't afford it." "This was the best way, they have over forty thousand students." Amanda answered all her questions and when they reached the part where they were done she said, "Oh, just one more thing." Then she reached down and pulled a small package off the floor and handed it to her. Jak started to ask a question but Amanda only interrupted and told her to open it. She opened it to find the chess set she had talked to Dr. Holt about, there was even a beautiful wood board that went perfectly with the set. She just stared at Amanda who shrugged and told her, "Dr. Holt had mentioned your enhanced chess skill. When I saw that printout of the chess set while we were shopping I went ahead and bought it." Amanda smiled, "You are one of the most frugal people I've worked with. You didn't want the biggest penthouse in the city, a super-giant TV, a new sports car, or imported custom made Italian furniture. The only things you did ask for were average furnishings, an adjustable bed, and a high tech computer, all of which will be in your apartment. So the chess set was a way to say thank you." She got up to leave while Jak who was in a kind of stunned disbelief could only wave to her and say goodbye. She set up the board on the table admiring the pieces, promising herself that she would use it another time. Tonight was for something else. She took a quick shower then changed into some of her new clothing, khakis, a Henley shirt, and tan sneakers. Then she left and went upstairs.

When she had heard the dining area was a cafeteria she had pictured something like the one back at her law firm. Where people stood in line and could order food off the grill or maybe choose from two or three hot items. She was wrong; that part was there but there was also a section with tables and waiters where you could sit and order from a menu. Amanda had contacted them and they set up a tab until she could resolve her bank situation. They even had a sommelier and she wasted no time in letting him recommend wines with her dinners. Her dream had been accurate; the flavors of the wines were amazing and they really enhanced her meals. After dinner and paying off her tab she went over to the Rec area; though to Jak it looked like a cross between a sports bar, a pub, and a British gentlemen's club. She had visited her second night in the guest quarters and while the pool tables had looked appealing she had been drawn to the chess tables. But tonight she was on a different mission; she was going to try the piano. There were two; there was a grand in the club section and an upright in the pub section. She went over to the grand and sat down. No one was really paying attention as she sat there for moment, then closing her eyes she let her hands drift across the keys. Soon the moonlight sonata began to be heard and it was perfect; she could hear every note and she opened her eyes as she played. Then she started on Clair de Lune and after that finished with Chopin's Nocturne. She was so wrapped up in her music that only after she finished and heard the applause did she realize a crowd had gathered. She played three more pieces to even more applause then thanked everyone and left after promising to play another night.

The next day she trained with Captain Atom in the morning then after lunch he told her he'd taught her everything she needed; that now all she needed was experience and she had the potential to really be a force for good. She stopped at that and asked him what he thought of Jak Force as her hero name. He thought it sounded good and helped her log into the local pc and register the name. Then he presented her with a newly made uniform that looked the same as what she had been wearing on Brainiac's ship. Nathaniel said that after training with her he understood why her outfit was so revealing. When she shifted to space form she didn't need lots of layers and it was something she could wear under her regular clothes. He did say though that while he didn't see the appeal of blue and gold it was a good looking color combination. She thanked him then went to her afternoon session with Dr. Salazar that was really helping her to adjust to being a her instead of a him.

The day after that she found Captain Atom and told him that she wanted to go on active duty, not just be a reservist. He took her to the main hall and introduced her to Superman and she had to fight to keep herself from acting like a drooling fangirl. But Superman was gracious and only asked if she was sure, did she need more time to adjust to basically a new life? She looked him in the eye and told him she was ready. So the following day, after one more piano recital that had taken place in a packed rec area, she found herself in the Metropolis 3rd precinct reporting for duty and receiving a call from Superman.

"With Brainiac's attack we need all the help we can get. Gorilla Grodd's army is attacking and devolving humans into apes. We've got to stop them before they overtake Metropolis."

With that Jak Force took a breath, braced herself, and stepped out of the precinct into a larger world.


End file.
